Happy New Years, friends!
We celebrated thanksgiving with food and gatherings multiple times, including once with this lovely bunch, and I was filled with love and thankfulness to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
I’ve been really liking this thin sweater layered over a patterned button down. This sweater is shockingly warm, too, so I suspect I’ll keep leaning on this look over the winter. It is making me wish I had more patterned button downs, and not exclusively in blue and white (classic though it may be).
I shared this picture for a throwback Thursday. This is from 10 years ago. My grandmother, aunt (whose wedding this was), my Mom, and me! This is one of my favorite pictures of all time, and I think it’s very possibly the only picture of the four of us, all kind of lined up like this. We look so very very related, don’t we?
This sweater has been done for weeks now and worn several times, but it lacks a photoshoot. Might try to make that happen this week!
You know how I loooooove a Christmas tree! Even though we went out of town for Christmas, we couldn’t not put up a tree! It’s extra tiny this year, which actually works better in the space! And the tree trimming isn’t complete without our annual watching of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
I tried not to get sucked into too much Christmas knitting this year, but I did end up churning out two hats in the week before Christmas to gift away.
We went to New Mexico to be with my Gramps, Aunt Les and cousins for Christmas. A kind of family-Christmas-present was a trip up to Ojo Caliente, a natural hot springs resort in northern New Mexico. It was beautiful and magical, and kind of cold, but the hot springs were hot and delightful, and we took advantage of the sun as much as we could and went hiking about in the surrounding hills.
In said hills were some Posi ruins, which mainly comprised of many many thousands of old ceramic shards strewn about the ground. Various people walking through had collected them in small groupings, and made little (or big) stacks of them, or would lay them on larger flat rocks. So I made my own, channeling Andy Goldsworthy, a kind of mandala, or halo. I easily could’ve spent another hour or two working on it.
New Years Eve we ended up inviting some people over last minute and spent the day cooking and tidying, and the evening eating, playing games (apples to apples & a telephone pictionary hybrid), and counting in the new year. It was lovely and cozy, and this is pretty much the only picture of it: food on the left, dishes from making food on the right, us in the middle looking kinda fancy. How debonair is Jake? (The answer is Very Debonair!)
A new year calls for new running shoes! They are long over due, and my feet are so pleased to be reminded what support feels like!
Whew! So that’s what I’ve been up to the last six weeks or so! Some of my last five FO’s and a new years round up are pending!
As you know, I’ve been trying (and trying) to de-stash, and work down the amount of yarn I own. But it takes time to knit a stash away, and it takes significantly less time to acquire yarn. I’ve really tried to be good, but my will has wavered a few times in the face of temptation.
And today is Thanksgiving, so I want to say thanks to you guys! So I want to offer to you:
This beautiful cherry colored yarn, DK weight, approximately 800 yards. It’s Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, but not the original colorway. I got this yarn 5 years ago, and about 4 years ago, I overdyed it from it’s original browns, cream and grey to it’s current cherries & garnets. This soft is as soft as yarn gets. It is 70% angora, 25% merino, and 5% nylon. The angora makes it cheek-rubbing delightfully soft, and the merino and nylon are really just there to hold the yarn together. There’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 yards here, so it could be a sweater!
The pros: have I mentioned the softness?
The cons: because this is primarily angora, it is just a bit delicate. Remember when I accidentally tore a hole in my fresh FO? That cowl was the same yarn. But unless you’re a violent knitter, I don’t think this is an issue. Just something to be aware of.
In a few days I’ll post a few of the things I had contemplated knitting with this yarn, in case you want some inspiration.
Anyways. Want approximately 800 yards of luscious DK weight angora yarn? Here’s what you do: leave a comment on this post that has the words “YARN ME” somewhere in it. And tell me (if you feel like it, not required at all) what you’ve been daydreaming about knitting recently.
Contest will close Wednesay, December 3 at 11:59pm, and I’ll do a random number generator to find the winner!
thrifted j crew cardigan – swapped blouse – levi’s jeans – target wedges
This outfit has been a favorite of mine this fall. The combination of the navy polka dot blouse with the orange ruffle cardigan tickles my fancy! I thought for a very long time that I looked terrible in orange. I still don’t think I look great in many shades of it, but I find I really like autumnal oranges, with brown undertones, that make me think ‘spice orange’.
Other things of note: I’ve been wearing blush recently. I’m not honestly sure how I feel about it, but blush is having such a time in the sun right now, I thought I might as well give it a try. I’ve been thinking I should periodically make a post of what I’ve been doing with my makeup recently. It changes slightly over time, and I feel like I forget what I used to do.
Have you changed your way of thinking about certain colors?
Also: I’m thinking of doing a giveaway on Thursday (if, you know, I can get my act together), so stop back then!
It’s been a looong time since I did one of these, yeah?
I thought I might do this one with a theme. I got to thinking about it when I posted our starry night photos.
Moon shirt by blackbird tees on etsy.
I love this t-shirt.
Stuff You Missed in History Class‘s podcast on Caroline Herschel: Astronomy’s Cinderella, the first professional female scientist in Great Britain. In case you like bad-ass women of history. Which I do! Plus astronomy, which I also like!
Some absolutely, completely, ridiculously amazing pictures of outer space. These were taken by actual pro’s and telescopes and all that official biz-nis. In case you just want to wallow in the amazing-ness that these lenses can capture color spectrum’s like this. I mean.
Or how about this flippin’ delightful poesy ring from the British Museum? In case the charming six pointed stars and slightly wobbly design don’t just have you at hello, it is also engraved on the inside: ‘Many are the stars I see but in my eye no star like thee’. Calm down with your awesomeness, already, ring. Save some for the rest of us.
How about this simple and sweet manicure?
As it turns out, I could go on and on and on and on… I have at least five more up my sleeve right now. Here’s an amazing night sky timelapse. I use the Night Sky app to stalk stars, day and night! This maker of beautiful rings also snapped a very inspiring nighttime selfie that I love. Starry night wall in the bedroom, anyone? How about this Milky Way One Piece swimsuit? One time Charlie McDonnell did a great vlog about the moon which I loved! Okay, that’s probably enough for you guys! Apparently I have a thing for the night sky.
Also Known As: Life Lately According To My Phone.
One of my very favorite ladies got married on Halloween. I cried the moment she started to speak at the ceremony, because geeze, there’s something about people I love making life long commitments that brings out the sap in me. Properly contrasted with a duck face selfie, of course. I designed her invites, and hopefully someday I’ll get around to showing you those.
I borrowed a dress for the wedding and I’m kind of in lurve with it. Also, dressing up for this made me realize: a) my hair is pretty long and b) I don’t really know how to make it formal or even semi-formal at this length. Braids have been my default, but I need some new inspiration.
I decided to knit another ‘seasons hat’ for a friend who always wears hats. When there’s this many colors at play, I have to swatch a minimum of four times. I like where I ended up! This is pretty close to completion, depending on how much knitting time is in the near future.
Time is at a bit of a premium right now because PoPS is in full swing production! Which is time-consuming, but it’s wonderful to be getting this stuff done. Pre-production was a especially brutal this round (I’m looking at you, scheduling). Oh, this picture is hands belonging to myself and Carlyn. When we need a double for her on set, I don a wig, and rings.
Production at our place means I’ve been cleaning every room we’ve been about to shoot in. And then inevitably seeing corners of dustiness while we’re shooting. SIGH. Accidentally bleached my jeans with the tub-scrub stuff the other day. At least it looks kind of planned-ish?
Baiza has been a bit under the weather. It’s easy to forget how old she is, being as teensy and spry as she is, but occasionally her age catches up to us. She’s on the mend, and this little tent has been her favorite hide out. Chyna made it for Mitzy, who upheld the time honored pet tradition of not giving a rats-patootie about the things their people want them to, so I’m glad Baiza likes it!
Part of my family celebrated an early Thanksgiving with a meal, and I very much enjoyed how much Jake’s sweater matched the flowers on the table.
In this time of eternal cleaning and tidying, I’ve been shuffling through my wardrobe again, and I decided that my favorite chambray shirt has been out of commission long enough, and either needed to be tossed or fixed. So I took a cue from my favorite board dedicated to mending (specifically this) and went for it! It’s wearable again! I think the fabric is starting to give, so I’m not sure how much I extended it’s life, but oh well. I still like it!
What have you guys been up to?
FO: Geode Hat <– Ravelry Project Page
Pattern: Diode Hat by Erica-knits
Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Nuna in Purple, about 1.5 skeins just under 300 yards.
Needles: US size 2, 2.75mm
Mods: None!
I love these bobbles! I really like knitting bobbles, and I find them fun fun fun, but admittedly, sometimes they can be a little overpowering or silly looking on knits for adults. So I love that Erica made it more about a small, all over texture, both by using a less bulky yarn (sport weight) and bringing down the size by reducing stitches. It ends up feeling classic and ladylike! Erica’s original version in navy looks especially classic to me.
This is also the first time I’ve knit a double thick brim. I’ve seen it around the knitting world, and contemplated how nice it must be in the dead of winter, but never actually tried it myself!
As a knit, this is a good on-the-go knit. Once you’ve got the hang of the bobbles, it’s a fairly meditative knit that fits well in a (large) purse. But I assume knitters really only carry large purses. The yarn is a silk, wool, bamboo blend, and it is really delightfully soft. It should satisfy any friends with wool-uncertainties in terms of softness. The silk really contributed to the slouch factor here. I’m kind of tempted to knit it again in a more robust wool for the kind of lovely cheeky wintry height that it seems very capable of.
A few years ago, Jake and I started to jog, as an attempt to stay healthy and fit. Mostly just outside, around our neighborhood. We were getting into it, trying to get a little more distance and challenging ourselves. As the seasons changed and it got dark earlier, it got more challenging, and after a tumble in which nothing was really harmed, but still hurt, I wasn’t so willing to keep jogging outside in the impending winter. So for New Years, we took advantage of the offers that gyms put out there, tempting people feeling a little extra jiggly after the excess of the holidays, and joined.
(These are my favorite jogging pants. I found them on the sale rack at Anthropologie and they make me feel extremely cheerful!)
It’s been interesting to see how going to the gym has effected my perception of my own body. I never did any sports growing up, and distance running was always something my body tried to actively dissuade me of, so I don’t have anything to compare this to. When we’re being good, and getting there on a regular basis (I’d be lying if I said we didn’t accidentally take off a month here and there), I don’t honestly notice much of a change in my weight or shape. But I feel more pride in my own body, knowing what it is capable of. And I totally dig that. And feeling more pride in it has made me re-consider things I once saw as flaws. I’m less concerned about how big my hips are and more pleased with the muscles my thighs hold.
After a while of running at the gym, I started to wonder how I would do in a more public/pressured run, like a 5k race. Then I found out there was a crypt run in October at a large cemetery in Chicago. Perfect! I wheedled Jake into joining me, as it contained many elements of interest for him. We did a few weeks of training outside, since we’ve primarily been doing treadmill running. We tried to get a few hills in, average a distance of at least 5k, and do that a few times a week.
It was quite cold when we got there (about 40F), but we left our layers in the car. So we immediately put the t-shirts we received for participating in the race on over our shirts and hoodies (which I hear might be kind of gauche in terms of running ettiquette? idk). Dunkin Donuts was handing out teensy cups of coffee, which we took advantage of, huddling around them like bitsy campfires that we could wrap our hands around. There were a bunch of people dressed up in various Halloween-y costumes, vampires and zombies, etc. They had a good soundtrack playing by the start line, the Halloween movie theme song, and Thriller by Michael Jackson, of course.
Once the race started, we warmed up quickly. They gave us glowsticks (see above) so we could see each other, and the route was lined with little battery operated flickery candles, and some of the more interesting sites were lit with colored lights, and there was plenty of light from the streetlamps just outside cemetery limits, so it wasn’t very dark at all. I’d set a loose goal of finishing in 40 minutes (more because I do better with a specific goal than anything else) and we finished in 35! Jake had the GoPro with him, so he captured some of the actual running/route portions of the 5k:
It starts just after the 2:50 mark if you wish to skip to the relevent section.
(Ooooh! Rosehill is so spooky and atmospheric!)
I know that compared to other runners, it’s not much. But I’m not jogging/running for others. I don’t honestly see a marathon in my future, but I’d really like to do a color run next year, and I would totally do the crypt run again!
Let me take a moment to plug my very favorite app for running: Runkeeper. It has options for different kinds of excercise (walking, running, cycling, etc), keeps track of your route, pace, and calories burned, if you put in your weight. It can link to a playlist on your phone so that you can be listening to music/podcasts while you excercise. I also LOVE that it gives little 5 minute updates, telling you what minute mark you’re at, the distance achieved, and average pace. I find that really boosting, because I’m competitive with myself, so it always makes me push a little bit faster. The only potential downside is that it is really intended for use outside. So when I jog on the treadmill, I have to manually log that information instead of using the app as I excercise. That doesn’t bother me, though, as at least now I have one place where all of my excercise is logged.
Since this all sounds so very glowing, I kind of feel like I should say: Runkeeper has no idea I exist, they did not pay me to speak kindly of them. I just am really impressed with this app.
Some other fun things Halloween-y: Haunted Mansion, Part 1 Stuff You Missed in History Show Notes and Podcast and also part 2. It’s hard to see in the first pic, but my favorite running tshirt is a Haunted Mansion one!
at a friend’s wedding
filming on top of a tall building in chicago
silliness at a photoshoot
photobombing selfie
going to see the Veronica Mars movie
summer bike ride
making faces at a fancy restaurant, like you do
on our actual anniversary
This anniversary was our fifth! And in April, we celebrated 10 years of being together, both of which feel fairly significant. This year has been a bit crappy in many ways, and it is so so nice to have things like this to remind me of all the wonderful things that are happening too, that good comes alongside bad, and that I am incredibly blessed. I always feel a bit hokey trying to write about these things, so I will borrow words*, but Jake really is the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow.
Cheers!
* Words borrowed from a letter by Cassandra Austen about her sister Jane. But the moment I read them, they felt true.
Jake and I were up in the UP recently for a family wedding. I have frequently marveled at the night sky up there, so far away from the light & pollution I’m accustomed to from living near a city. I’ve wanted to take pictures several times, but have been limited by the camera I had with me at any given time. This time, though, we had the really nice camera with us, so:
These were 30 second exposures, so it was difficult to stay completely still (just like the olden days!). Considering this was our first try at night sky photography, I’m very chuffed with how they turned out! It’s worth it go to the flickr page and look at them in the largest capacity. Our camera is no Hubble telescope, but there are still more stars than I can count! I know others feel different ways about it, but I love being reminded of just how many possibilities there are out there, and how small we actually are.
If you look closely up there (in the fourth image, just under the ‘Road Ends’ one), you should be able to see something streaking across the night sky. Most likely it’s a satellite, but who knows? It could be a shooting star!
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